2006-01-05

stp: Bober Drug Sells Farm

Apparently the chain/local battle is over before it starts. The PiPress has the scoop on the CVS's Grand Ave. triumph:

For an undisclosed sum, business owner Ron Johnson will hand over all of the store's customer records and pharmaceuticals, sell the building and promise to shutter the shop in time for CVS' scheduled opening across the street, Johnson said Wednesday...."If they take just half of our business, they put us out of business," Johnson said, referring to the small margins on which the store operates. "If they cut that down, there's no way we could possibly make a profit."

The time to leave might be right, said Johnson, who has seen his property's taxes triple over the past five years. The owner of four additional drugstores in Minnesotawould not disclose the amount CVS agreed to pay, other than to say that the price was "more than fair."